ANDERSON — The man accused of fatally shooting an Elwood police officer during an attempted traffic stop Sunday fired at least 36 rounds and the officer never had a chance to unholster his own gun, a court document alleges.
Carl Roy Webb Boards II, 42, is charged with four counts stemming from the shooting death of 24-year-old Noah Shahnavaz, an Elwood officer of 11 months. They include one count each of murder and possession of a firearm as a serious violent felon and two counts of resisting law enforcement.
Charges were filed against Boards on Monday following his arrest about 2:30 a.m. Sunday, about a half-hour after the deadly shooting.
"At this time, the Madison County Prosecutor's Office is seeking a life sentence of imprisonment without parole by alleging ... that the victim of the murder was a law enforcement officer and was acting in the course of his duty," a Monday news release from the prosecutor's office states.
Prosecutors have said they're still weighing the possibility of the death penalty — but haven't ruled it out.
The encounter started about 2 a.m. when Shahnavaz was conducting a traffic stop near the intersection of State Road 37 and County Road 1100N in Madison County.
According to the affidavit, Shahnavaz transmitted over the radio that he had pulled over a white Buick Lacrosse, later determined to be driven by Boards. Shortly afterward, Shahnavaz said over his radio that the driver "had a gun." It was his last radio transmission.
Elwood police and Madison County sheriff's deputies then responded to Shahnavaz's location.
When they arrived, police found Shahnavaz still inside his patrol vehicle, which had its lights still activated. He appeared to have been shot several times. There were also several rifle casings in the area, according to the affidavit.
Responding officers provided aid to Shahnavaz before medics arrived. He was later transported by EMS to Ascencion St. Vincent Mercy in Elwood, then flown by helicopter to Ascension St. Vincent Hospital - Indianapolis. It was there he was pronounced dead.
An autopsy found Shahnavaz died from two gunshot wounds to his head and several more to his body, according to the affidavit.
"Based on the severe trauma to Officer Noah Shahnavaz's body, it is unclear of the number of times that he was shot," the affidavit states.
About 2:25 a.m., a Hamilton County Sheriff's deputy began traveling northbound from State Road 37 and 186th Street when he was made aware of the wanted vehicle Boards was driving.
He later saw a vehicle matching the description traveling southbound on State Road 37 near 216th Street in Hamilton County.
The deputy then began following the vehicle, which was traveling about 70 mph in a 40 mph speed zone, and noticed its license plate matched the wanted vehicle's, according to the affidavit.
It was around then the deputy tried to stop the vehicle — but Boards didn't pull over, resulting in a pursuit that included Hamilton County Sheriff's deputies.
During the pursuit, Hamilton County Sheriff's deputies deployed tired deflation devices at State Road 37 and 141st Street, causing the vehicle's left front tire to become disabled. Boards then continued southbound onto Interstate 69, at which point Fishers police became involved in the pursuit.
Eventually, Boards stopped in the left lanes of I-69 near Fishers. Boards was then placed under arrest without further incident, according to the affidavit.
Police found a 9mm handgun on Boards' person, as well as a black rifle with a high-capacity magazine on the vehicle's driver's seat.
During an interview, Boards declined to speak with police.
A search warrant was executed on Boards' phone which revealed he had called his family members and girlfriend through FaceTime while trying to escape police.
An investigation found Boards is the owner of the barber shop Webb's Cut Care at 525 S. Washington St. in Marion. During a search of the business, police found a high-capacity magazine in the back of the building.
Police were later told Boards is known to carry a handgun and had recorded songs in which he said, "if he was ever caught by police that he would kill them," the affidavit alleges.
Records show Boards has several previous criminal convictions, including attempted murder stemming from a 2006 encounter with police.
Boards when 26 years old when he led Indianapolis Metro Police on a chase and fired on three officers.
Investigators said at the time they found weapons in his vehicle, including a pistol and a loaded AK-47 with 97 live rounds.
Boards is scheduled for an initial court hearing 3 p.m. Monday in Madison Circuit Court.
RELATED | Elwood police officer shot, killed; suspect in custody | Suspect in Elwood police officer's death has several prior criminal convictions, records show | Everything we know about fallen Officer Noah Shahnavaz | What we know about the man accused of killing Elwood Officer Noah Shahnavaz
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